Search This Blog

In The 1970s Sherbert

The sign of a great song isn’t the chord sequence, the lyrics or the performance it’s the way that it seeps into your subconscious without you realising. The Australian band Sherbet’s one UK hit is one of those songs…………………

Sherbet were formed in 1969 by the merger of two Sydney bands, Clapham Junction and Downtown Roll Band, and while in the UK they may be remembered as ‘one hit wonders’ in Australia they were one of the most successful pop groups of the 70s. Before recording they honed their stage craft for 8 months during a 7 hours a night, 4 days a week stint at a Sydney disco. While this was followed by local chart success it wasn’t until 1972 that their big break came when they supported Creedence Clearwater Revival touring Australia. With a subsequent poll voting Sherbet the Top Australian Group of 1972 they had arrived.

While their first single release of 1973 was a cover (“Hound Dog” by Leiber and Stoller) it was the follow up “Cassandra” that highlighted the group’s major asset – the songwriting partnership of Clive Shakespeare (lead guitar, vocals) and Garth Porter (keyboards). During the next three years they notched up a number of chart hits in Australia and their album “Slipstream” sold in excess of 100,000 copies.

Ironically, it was only after founder member Clive Shakespeare left the group in 1976 that they hit the charts in the Northern Hemisphere with “Howzat”. Supported by an extensive tour the single made number 4 in the UK as well as making the charts across Europe and South East Asia and hitting the number 1 spot in Australia. The associated album meanwhile did even better going double platinum. Despite being followed by more success in Australia this was realistically the peak of their commercial success. The group split in the early 80s and, while they only managed the one UK hit, they left a formidable legacy in Australia – 20 consecutive hit singles and 17 albums (10 platinum).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Midge Ure, O.B.E. Was born in 1953 and was a massive star in the 80s with Ultravox, Live Aid, but his roots really do go back to the music of the 70s. He started with a group called Salvation in 1972 as a guitarist mainly performing around Glasgow, but Salvation disbanded in 1974, some of the group joined together to make the group Slik. They had no single success until this 1976 hit ,this is where I first heard of Slik with there number one UK record “Forever and Ever”, this record is often referred to as a Bay City Roller type record, which is not surprising as the same writers were working on both groups and for Bell records.

For those that live around Europe (Australia included), once a year since the 1950s the Eurovison Song Contest is held. This contest is to find a group that will be the best of the best in Europe, and is voted by every participating country. Needles to say the politics of the region play very high.

With all its many flaws it brings in a huge live TV audiences of around 100 million people.

David Cassidy was born in 1950 and died in November 2017 after multiple organ failures and the onset of dementia. David was one of the biggest global stars in the 1970s after fnding fame in the cult USA TV show The Partridge Family.

The TV show not only made him a teen heartthrob as a good looking actor, but the show allowed him to prove his singing credentials too.

The show proved popular, but the fame had its toll on several, if not most, of the starring cast. In the midst of his rise to fame, David Cassidy soon felt stifled by the show and trapped by the mass hysteria surrounding his every move. In May 1972, he appeared nude on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in a cropped Annie Leibovitz photo. He used the article to get away from his squeaky clean image. Among other things, the article mentions Cassidy was riding around New York in the back of a car "stoned and drunk."

Once "I Think I Love You" became a hit, Cassidy began work on solo albums, as well. Withi…